Venkat Venkatasubramanian is the Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering, professor of computer science (affiliate), and professor of industrial engineering and operations research (affiliate) at Columbia University. He earned his doctoral degree in chemical engineering at Cornell University, master’s degree in physics at Vanderbilt, and bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Madras, India. He taught at Purdue University for 23 years, before returning to Columbia in 2011.
Venkat's research interests are diverse, ranging from AI to systems engineering to theoretical physics to economics, but they are generally focused on the theme of understanding complexity and emergent behavior in different domains. Venkat is a complex dynamical systems theorist interested in developing mathematical models of their structure, function, and behavior from fundamental conceptual principles. Venkat's research interests are diverse, ranging from AI to systems engineering to theoretical physics to economics, but they are generally focused on the theme of understanding complexity and emergent behavior in different domains. His contributions have been in fault diagnosis, process safety, materials analytics, pharmaceutical engineering, and complex adaptive systems. His book, How Much Inequality is Fair? Mathematical Principles of a Moral, Optimal, and Stable Capitalist Society, was published in 2017.